DJ Lagway gives vote of confidence after Florida opts to keep Billy Napier for 2025
Florida shocked the college football world Thursday when they announced they were committing to Billy Napier for 2025. It was a shock because just a month ago, Napier seemed closer to leaving Gainesville than he did staying there.
And one person who couldn’t be happier that Napier is back is Florida quarterback DJ Lagway. He took to social media to express how happy he was that the coach that recruited him would be back next season.
It backs up Pete Thamel’s report after the news of Scott Stricklin, Florida’s athletic director, releasing the statement that Lagway was heavily aligned with Napier. It looks like Lagway was the key piece to Napier rebuilding Florida’s football team.
Couple notes on Florida bringing back Napier.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) November 7, 2024
Per ESPN sources, 70-percent of Florida’s NIL money is in freshman and sophomores. There’s a feeling in the program that star freshman QB DJ Lagway is aligned with Napier, and Napier can grow this core of young players. pic.twitter.com/SwKdmNSbKd
Napier didn’t lose the locker room like we all thought and he certainly didn’t abandon this team. Thamel said 70 percent of the school’s NIL money is tied to freshman and sophomores meaning the school wants to be patient and they believe Napier is the best person to turn things around.
DJ Lagway not only saved Billy Napier’s job, he set the tone for what to expect in 2025
With Lagway backing his coach, you can’t help but be excited about what Florida is going to look like next season when Lagway is fully healthy and Napier can focus on football without worrying about being on the hot seat.
DJ Lagway approves of the decision 🐊 pic.twitter.com/ERCCq8ycLw
— Florida Recruiting (@FLRecruits) November 7, 2024
When Napier finally committed to Lagway after he and Graham Mertz split time under center at the beginning of the season, we saw exactly how talented Lagway could be. He led the Gators to a near win over Tennessee and was on his way to leading them to a win over Georgia before he was carted off with a hamstring injury.
This season, Lagway has over 1,000 passing yards with six touchdowns and five interceptions. He’s every bit as good as advertised as a former five-star prospect. The way he’s played this season, I see why Florida was maybe hesitant to part ways with Napier.
Because Lagway is such a Napier supporter, that could have triggered him and a few of the other young pieces on this team to hit the transfer portal and follow him wherever he landed.
This seems to be the moment that can clear the air about not only where Napier stands with Florida, but the respect the team still has for him.
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